[Disclaimer]: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this fanfic, nor do I claim them. The idea, however, is mine.
Summary - Serin and Co. travel to the palaces to seal the Mana seeds. Will they be able to accomplish their task before the Scorpion army strikes again? Read and Review, please.
Revival of the Legend
Part 9
"Serin, you don't think that this has been too easy, do you," Charis asked as she watched him seal the fire seed. "We only have the light seed left to seal, and we haven't had any opposition from the Scorpion army."
"I agree," Glenn stated. "'Tis too easy."
"We should be thankful, then," Serin said, sheathing the Mana sword. "The fight ahead of us will be a tough one."
"Well I don't like it," Charis commented as the group made their way back through the temple. Once they were outside, Charis lifted Flammie's drum into the air and shook it quickly back and forth.
"We'll keep our guard up," Serin replied as Flammie landed near them. The warriors climbed onto his back and they flew towards the only mountain range in the desert. "After I seal the final seed, we can go, and put a stop to the Scorpion army."
"Do you really think it will be that easy," Marle asked. "How powerful do you think these three guardian dragons really are?"
"I don't know, Marle," Serin said. "We'll all find out together." He turned towards her slightly. "That is, if you wish to fight with us."
"Do you have to even ask," Marle exclaimed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Serin, I feel a closeness to you that I don't understand entirely. I know we're twins, but something inside of me yearns to help you; to fight alongside you. Even if I didn't want to help you, I don't think I could ignore this ... instinct."
"She speak'eth for us all," Glenn stated as Crono nodded in agreement.
"We're almost there," Charis stated as Flammie began to descend towards the earth. He landed on the ground, and the five warriors jumped off his back. "Thanks Flammie," she said as the dragon lifted up into the air and flew away.
"Hath thee miscalculated our destination," Glenn asked. "'Tis only a boat I see."
"That's how we get to the temple, Glenn," Charis replied. "We'll take the ferry to the temple, to seal the final seed." They approached the ferryboat and the short, hooded figure they assumed was the captain.
"Headed for the Temple," he asked, looking up towards the warriors. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Just hop aboard." They looked at each other, and then followed the captain onto the boat.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Janus, did you hear something," Schala asked as she looked in the direction of the front of the Water Palace. "I thought I heard a noise."
"I didn't hear anything," Magus replied. His voice trailed, and he extended his senses, straining to hear.
"There it is again," Schala exclaimed, glancing over at her brother. "It sounds like ... laughter."
"I hear it," Magus said. He looked around as the sound grew louder. It was, indeed, laughter.
"The Water Palace Guardian hasn't lost her touch, Auka," Ikoa stated as he appeared by the stairs.
"No, she hasn't," Auka replied, appearing next to him. "And it appears the Mana Knight isn't here. We should go find him."
"Shouldn't we have some fun here, first," Ikoa asked. "He couldn't have gone far."
"But look at him," Auka commented, gesturing towards Magus. "He looks mean."
"But he's no match for us," Ikoa pointed out. Auka nodded in agreement, and the two began to glow. As the glow faded away, a large plant-creature stood in their place.
Magus stepped in front of Schala as she took a step back. "What is that," he asked. Schala shook her head.
"I don't know," she replied. "I've never seen a creature like this one."
"We united as one are Ikka," they stated in a singsong voice. Magus snorted in disgust.
"Pathetic," he exclaimed. "Hide, Schala, and I'll take care of this thing." Wordlessly she agreed, and as she ran towards the stairs that would lead to a lower level in the Palace, vines wrapped around her body, tripping her. "What," Magus demanded angrily.
"We united as one have more power than she," they exclaimed, dancing around tauntingly. Magus narrowed his eyes, and gripped his scythe as it appeared in his hands.
"But you do not have more powers than I," he exclaimed. With a soft grunt, he leapt towards the creature, swinging his scythe down in the process. Ikka grabbed the weapon with some of the vines on his body, and pulled it away from the mage.
Ikka laughed tauntingly and tossed the scythe aside. "We are stronger," they laughed annoyingly. "For we united as one ..."
"Silence," Magus barked. Ikka screamed out in pain as fire surrounded him. Magus extended an arm towards the creature, and smiled darkly. Ikka fell to the ground as a dark dome of energy surrounded him, and the creature split back up into the two forms of Ikoa and Auka.
"He's no fun, Ikoa," Auka whined.
"No, he's not brother," Ikoa replied, on supporting the other as they stood. Magus rose his hand again, and the two began to back away.
"Boss," they yelled in unison. They turned back the way they came, disappearing as they ran away.
"What a weak being," Magus stated in disgust. He walked over towards Schala, pulling off the vines as he knelt beside her.
"Thank you," Schala stated as Magus helped her stand. "I didn't know they had that technique. They must have been given powers by the Guardian dragons, which means they have more control over the dragon than I first thought. Serin must quickly seal the final seed, before Calisto decides to strike."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"There, that's the final one," Serin stated triumphantly, sheathing his sword. "With all the seeds sealed, our Mana power should be stronger."
"Serin, I just thought of something," Charis began. "Will we be able to fully revive the power of the Mana sword without Kikuo? The seeds may be sealed, but your sword is still powerless."
"We should be able to defeat the dragon, still," Serin replied. "It will only be more difficult. After all, it's not the Mana Beast."
"Ah, but it's just as strong, Knight of the Mana Tribe," Calisto stated, as she appeared in the room. She held a figure in her hand, and tossed the unconscious ferryboat captain into the middle of the room.
"Calisto," Serin growled. "You're too late! We've already sealed the seeds. You can't steal their power."
"But you'll never get the chance to defeat the Guardian dragon, pest," she replied. "I've studied you, and your companions. From my studies, I've come up with the perfect monster that will destroy you once and for all. Without the power of Shade, you don't stand a chance!"
"What are you talking about," Charis demanded. "We can defeat anything you can send at us!"
"We shall see," Calisto retorted. "You should have kept that sorcerer in your ranks. At least with him here, you would have stood a chance. But he won't be coming anytime soon. Auka and Ikoa have probably already destroyed him, along with the Water Palace Guardian, Luka!"
"I laugh at thee, madam," Glenn stated as he stood with his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Magus will surely smite thine minions." Just then, the two aforementioned entered the room.
"Look, we've found the Mana Knight," Ikoa spoke to Auka, neither noticing Calisto in the room.
"So we have, but I still hurt," Auka replied.
"Boys," Calisto barked. They slowly turned around, as they were still supporting one another. She narrowed her eyes. "What happened? You obviously failed to stop the Mana Knight from reaching this final seed, which he has already sealed!"
"We went to the Water Palace like you said," Ikoa began.
"And looked for the Mana Knight there to destroy him, as you asked," Auka finished.
"So what happened," Calisto demanded.
"What Glenn said would happen," Marle said, a smirk on her face. "They went up against Magus, and lost."
"You incompetent, good for nothings," Calisto screamed, as the five warriors began to laugh. She seethed with anger, pulling the dragon's statuette out of her robes. "You have mocked me for the last time! Never again will you make light of the Scorpion army!"
Auka and Ikoa looked at each other nervously. "Boss ..."
"Leave now, before I destroy you both," Calisto stated, holding the statuette out in front of her. The look on her face sent them running out of the room as fast as they could manage. As the three jewels in the artifact began to glow, the ferryboat captain began to regain consciousness.
"What happened," he asked groggily, shaking his pounding head. He gasped as he looked at Calisto, where energy was emitting from the object she held. It began to form into something, and she laughed maniacally.
"Yes, my beautiful creation," she exclaimed. "Form and destroy my enemies." As the light from the artifact faded, a puffy, white being made of pure light floated in the air.
"It will take more than this to stop us, Calisto," Serin stated. He unsheathed the Mana sword, and ran at the creature. As he swung his sword, the wispy-like creature became transparent and his sword went right through it. "What?" He screamed in pain as a beam of light flew out from the creature, sending him flying across the room.
"Serin," Marle exclaimed. She turned angrily towards the wisp, notching an arrow on her crossbow. She let it fly, however the same thing happened as when Serin attacked. She gasped as light danced across her body, and screamed in pain as she was shocked.
"Salamando," Charis yelled out as Marle fell to the ground. "Grant me the power of fire!" She concentrated on the wisp, and a wall of fire engulfed it. As the fire cooled away, she could only stare in shock. Not even the power of fire had harmed it any, and now its' attention was on her.
Calisto laughed as both Crono and Glenn futilely charged with their swords, and were rewarded with a bolt of light for their efforts. "I told you, you can't stop my creation," she laughed. Crono tried a lightning spell, only to have it reflected back onto him full force.
"Dryad, come forth," Charis exclaimed. Her command was never finished, as the wisp sent twin beams of light, striking her down. Calisto watched, amused, as the warriors continued to get up after being struck down. As they were struck down again, and didn't get back up, she smirked. That expression disappeared from her face as she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and turned, gasping.
"What? Impossible," she exclaimed. The ferryboat captain had a dark power surrounding him, and at his side, was a diamond-shaped being with a single red bead for an eye. A dark, swirling vortex attacked the wisp, dissipating the light. Calisto narrowed her eyes, and began to back away, out the room.
Charis sensed the dark magic in the air, and forced herself to sit up. The person using the magic had his back to her, and she looked towards the wisp. The light began to slowly fade, and a tiny creature was in its' place. "An imp," she asked. "We were defeated by an imp?" One by one, the warriors got back up, and stood behind the figure they realized was the ferryboat captain.
"It's not dead yet," he stated, as he sensed them coming up behind him.
"Who are you," Serin asked. They all looked back towards the imp, as it began to glow faintly.
"Oh no you don't," the Captain exclaimed. "Shade, come forth, and grant me your dark powers." The diamond appeared again, and several orbs of dark energy struck the imp. The area all around it became dark, and then there was nothing.
"Well, we owe you our thanks," Charis stated.
"That's right, you do," he replied. "If I hadn't come along, you would never have beaten that thing!" He pulled his hood back, and shook out his shock of pink hair. Looking up towards the warriors, he smirked at the looks of shock on the faces of Charis and Serin. "You never could get along well without me."
"Kikuo," Charis said, barely above a whisper.
"The one and only," he replied with a smile. He frowned at his two friends quickly afterward. "But you both have some nerve starting another adventure without me! I said I wouldn't be gone, and you didn't believe me! Phew, trying to have all the fun without me!"
"Kikuo, I'm so glad to see you again," Charis exclaimed, hugging him tightly.
"But how," Serin asked, confused.
"You're the one who's supposed to be a descent of the Mana Tribe," Kikuo replied, sticking out his tongue. "We Sprites are a part of Mana, and since it has been reawakening, we have been revived."
"'Tis a lively lad, this one," Glenn commented. Kikuo looked over the three warriors.
"We haven't met, but introductions will have to wait," he stated. "We have to put a stop to what's going on. The land is suffering because of it."
"Right," Serin said with a nod of his head. "We'll do it as a team!" He held out his hand, and the others put theirs on top of his. Kikuo jumped up and put his hand on the top of the pile.
"Alright," he exclaimed. They all gasped as the temple began to shake, and a laugh rang throughout the room.
"Your end is now, Child of the Mana Tribe," Calisto stated darkly. The building began to collapse, and the six warriors made a run for the entrance.
To Be Continued . . .